In January, the synodical and national officers met in a consultation called Facing Today—Dreaming for the Future. It was an excellent meeting with an amazing spirit of co-operation and a strong sense that we are all in this together.
The officers dealt with some challenging realities —realities that I know many of you are facing. Our church is going through a period of retraction. There are active members in many congregations. Some congregations have closed and some are facing new ways to stay open including partnerships and mergers.
These trends are affecting synods and the National Church as well, particularly as it comes to finances. The treasurers reported to us that three of the synods will not be able to balance their books within the next three years. The National Church is looking at the same reality within four years. We need to find a sustainable structure for our beloved church.
But as Christians we are people of hope. We are in the death and resurrection business. Our convention theme this summer is Rejoicing in Hope.
So how do we balance some challenging realities with hope? The National Church Council has authorized a Facing Today—Dreaming for the Future task force to work with consultants to do just that. It will take vision and resilience and courage but we have plenty of that in our church. It will also mean that all of us are going to need to be flexible and resilient and not fall into old ways of thinking like, “we’ve never done it that way before.”
I used to say that the ELCIC is a medium sized church. We may be on our way to being a small church. But my experience from visiting churches around the world, including our partners, is that small churches are still faithful churches. Small churches can still make a big impact in their communities and their countries. Small churches can be beacons of hope in this hurting world.
I won’t be able to see this process through as your bishop, but believe me, I will be cheering the process on, as together we face today and dream for the bright future of our church. God’s beloved church.
Rev. Susan Johnson
ELCIC National Bishop
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